


U R

by ellielovesck



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Best Friend Lee Jooheon, College, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluffyfest, Friends to Enemies, Jookyun Nonsense, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Soft Im Changkyun | I.M, Student Yoo Kihyun, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Very Wise Shownu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:48:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28758345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellielovesck/pseuds/ellielovesck
Summary: You and Kihyun have known each other ever since your freshman year of college and have hated each other for just as long. You are sworn enemies, constantly competing for the best grades. When the Headmaster calls you both in to announce you are tied for valedictorian, both of your lives are ruined because you are each depending on getting that number one spot to guarantee a spot in your respective post-graduate schools. The Headmaster tells you the only way to settle it is with the midterm exams coming up in one month, so the competition between you and Kihyun heats up like never before.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon & Reader, Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk, Yoo Kihyun & Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	U R

**Author's Note:**

> helloooooooooooo I'M BACK. back in town with another fic, this one being purely monsta x (although there might be a fun cameo or two from some other idols). I thought I'd try out a classic enemies to lovers situation and pair it with a college AU. this story features neither jooheon nor changkyun as a love interest (WILD, I know), but rest assured there is just as much yearning in this one as in Mohae (but it won't be as sad lolololol). anyway, I'm not going to make any promises about an upload schedule, but I typically update at least once a week!

“You study too hard,” Jooheon insisted.

Changkyun nodded beside him.

“I study a normal amount,” I replied. 

“No,  _ I  _ study a normal amount,” Changkyun quipped. “Jooheon studies  _ less  _ than a normal amount--”

“Hey!”

“--but you study way too much,” my roommate finished, ignoring our other roommate’s protests about the commentary on his study habits.

I wrinkled my nose in annoyance at Changkyun. “Well, I’m sorry I have goals that require a lot of studying.”

Jooheon snorted. “Everyone knows you’re going to get accepted to Yale... and then you’re going to leave us to go study in America and we’re never going to see you again, but whatever, because you’ll be a rich surgeon and you can buy me expensive gifts to make up for that.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him as Changkyun took a sip of his latte to hide his amused smirk. 

“That’s not even true,” I retorted. “First of all, there is literally no guarantee that I’m going to get into med school anywhere, least of all Yale. It’s still too soon to tell. Second of all, I don’t want to be a surgeon; I want to be a geneticist. Third of all, if anything, _ you’re _ going to be the rich friend.”

Jooheon cackled. “According to what evidence, exactly?”

“Well, you’re obviously going to become an internationally-recognized music producer, probably move to Los Angeles, become way too famous for your own good, drown yourself in Gucci and Prada, and forget all of us little people.”

Jooheon pursed his lips at me. “I don’t even like Prada.”

Changkyun snorted. “You’re literally wearing Prada sneakers.”

“They were a  _ gift _ ,” Jooheon retorted, his pout growing more pronounced by the second.

I giggled, knowing that I’d successfully made my point.

“What about Changkyun, huh? Maybe  _ he’ll  _ be the rich friend,” Jooheon continued. 

“Bro, I’m a biology major,” Changkyun sighed. 

Jooheon nodded. “Okay, good point.”

“Anyway, leave me out of this conversation,” Changkyun continued. “I’m not even a senior yet. I’m going to be miserable next year after you two graduate and I’m still stuck here.”

“I’ll still be around!” Jooheon exclaimed. “We can still be roommates!”

“Don’t give me false hope,” Changkyun replied. “We all know you’re going to move in with Minhyuk when our lease--”

“Excuse me, Miss Y/N?” said a vaguely familiar adult voice behind me. Changkyun trailed off, both him and Jooheon glancing up from where the three of us were perched on a concrete wall outside the library, enjoying a quick lunch break together before we had to get back to class.

I turned to find the Headmaster’s secretary, a middle-aged woman in a surprisingly stylish gray suit, looking at me expectantly. 

“The Headmaster was hoping to speak with you,” she told me.

I frowned. Why would the Headmaster want to speak with me? I’d never broken a rule in my entire life, which was exactly why Jooheon and Changkyun were suddenly snickering like annoying school girls.

“I have a lecture in twenty minutes,” I told the secretary.

“The Headmaster will write you a note to excuse you from lateness if necessary,” she replied with a passive smile.

I sighed. I didn’t want to give up the rest of my precious few minutes relaxing with my friends. Senior year of university was more difficult than I ever thought it would be and I really relished my brief downtime with Jooheon and Changkyun. 

“Maybe you won an award,” joked Jooheon.

“Maybe your GPA is so high that the Headmaster wants to let you know they invented a new number just for you,” added Changkyun.

The secretary ignored their commentary, but I shot them both glares.

So much for enjoying my time with those brats. I nodded at the Headmaster’s secretary and grabbed my bag. 

“Okay, fine,” I replied. 

I followed after the secretary to the main building, walking in silent confusion beside her. Campus was teeming with life as students rushed back and forth between classes and meetings. 

My stomach twisted with nerves as we got closer to the Headmaster’s office. There was only one bit of news that I was hoping to hear from the Headmaster, but I hadn’t expected it for another couple of weeks at least.

The hopeful news was, of course, that I was valedictorian.

I wanted nothing more than to graduate number one in my class. It was why I got so sensitive about Jooheon and Changkyun making fun of the amount of time that I spend studying. The truth was, I had received word back from Yale Medical School already…

And I was waitlisted.

I’d convinced myself that the most certain way to get off the waitlist and guarantee acceptance into my school of dreams was to be named valedictorian. After all, how could Yale continue to deny the number one student from one of the most competitive schools in South Korea? Everything else about me was perfect. Not only was I fluent in English, but also Mandarin and Spanish. I was well-traveled and I had plenty of impressive internships on my resume. 

Not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty much perfect.

The only thing that was missing was confirmation of that number one spot.

When we finally reached the little waiting room outside of the Headmaster’s office, I started to feel more and more hopeful. 

That is, until I saw who else was there waiting outside the door.

I couldn’t help it. I scoffed aloud at the sight of my least favorite person at school.

Yoo Kihyun.

Snobby, arrogant, pseudo-intellectual Yoo Kihyun. He was my biggest competition when it came to academics. In fact, we’d been battling each other for the number one spot ever since the start of university. So far, he’d only beat me for it once: sophomore year.

But I still couldn’t talk about that.

Kihyun was equally unhappy to see me, immediately rolling his eyes when I walked into the waiting area. He was wearing black jeans and a gray sweater with a crisp white collar sticking out from the knit neckline. His dark hair was combed back from his forehead, making him look like a Wall Street wannabe. 

The most infuriating part was that, on anyone else, his ensemble would come across as pretentious and annoying. Unfortunately, Kihyun really managed to pull off the preppy look. 

Not that I would ever admit that aloud to anyone.

Kihyun sighed. “Just when I thought I was having a good day.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re not happy to see me? How sad. I’m so  _ very  _ thrilled to see you.”

He rolled his eyes.

The secretary ignored our blatant hatred for one another and cleared her throat.

“Both of you may go in,” she said, gesturing to the Headmaster’s office door.

“But I thought you said he just wanted to meet with me?” I protested.

“I said nothing of the sort, Miss Y/N,” sighed the secretary, already walking away back toward her desk. “Not specifically, at least.”

Kihyun also looked dismayed to discover that this was a joint meeting, but quickly regained his composure and opened the door, stepping aside to let me go in first.

“Ladies first,” he smirked. Polite asshole.

“Bite me,” I hissed, breezing past him into the Headmaster’s office.

Once inside, both of us swiftly allowed our perfect student demeanors to take over again and we greeted the Headmaster respectfully. He was an aging man with gray hair and a strange sense of humor, but he was also a well-respected academic and I liked him well enough. 

“Ah, yes,” he said, smiling gently at me and Kihyun. “My star students! Please sit.”

Both Kihyun and I obeyed, neither one of us one to hesitate when it came to following instructions given by our elders. My parents raised me to be respectful, after all. However, I was convinced the only reason Kihyun was so polite was so he could use it as a tactic to sway favor toward him. 

He was a snake.

Even if I was the only one who could see it, I knew it was true.

“Well, I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought both of you in here,” said the Headmaster, folding his fingers together on top of his desk. 

Kihyun and I remained silent, waiting. 

“As you know, it is around this time of year that we do the final calculations for our seniors’ grade point averages. It is also when we determine who will be named the class valedictorian.”

As the Headmaster spoke, both Kihyun and I sat up straighter. 

“So, in short, I’ve brought you both in here to congratulate you, as it has been confirmed that you both have the same GPA. As such, we’ve decided to name you as dual-valedictorians!”

The Headmasters smiled excitedly as if he was delivering good news, but I instantly felt as though I wanted to scream.

“That’s impossible,” I replied, ignoring manners and politeness.

“There’s got to be a mistake,” Kihyun added. “Are you sure you did the math correctly?”

The Headmaster sighed quietly, the smile quickly melting off his face and being replaced by a much more exhausted expression. 

“Yes, quite sure, Mr. Yoo,” he replied.

“Can’t you calculate it to one more decimal point?” Kihyun pressed.

I rolled my eyes. Kihyun was a finance major, so it figured that he would be fixated on the mathematical aspect of this whole thing. 

“Actually, we calculated both of your GPAs to precisely ten decimal points, after which they both zeroed out,” responded the Headmaster with pursed lips. “I can assure you, they are both identical.”

“There’s no way,” I protested. “I got a 101.34 in microeconomics last year and Kihyun only got a 100.26. Did you take that into account?”

“Yeah, and did you also make sure to calculate the bonus points I got in Life Sciences freshman year that Y/N  _ didn’t  _ get?” Kihyun added.

Both of us glared at each other as, yet again, the Headmaster sighed.

“We have taken all of that into account,” he replied, pressing his fingertips to his temples as if he had a headache coming on. “It was quite surprising to us, as it is clearly surprising to the both of you, but the truth of the matter is that you are both evenly matched. You both share the highest GPA of any other student at this university.”

“No, there’s no way--” began Kihyun.

“I absolutely refuse--” I cut him off.

“She isn’t even in the most prestigious honor society--”

“He got a 96 in chemistry--”

“ _ She _ gets extra credit assignments when it doesn’t even make sense--” 

“ _ He _ is an abominable suck-up--”

“Well,  _ she-- _ ”

“ENOUGH,” barked the Headmaster, slamming his hands down on top of the desk.

Me and Kihyun instantly fell silent, having never seen the Headmaster exhibit so much frustration before. Is this what students who actually got in trouble witnessed?

I chewed on my lip, instantly afraid that we would both lose the opportunity to be valedictorian if the Headmaster got too upset at us. Kihyun seemed to be thinking the same thing and also instantly reverted back to his fake charming ways. 

The Headmaster closed his eyes and massaged his temples for a moment. The office was silent, the air thick with tension. Part of me wanted to reach over and smack Kihyun in the head for suggesting that I asked for extra credit when it wasn’t necessary.

There wasn’t anything wrong with being an overachiever. 

Finally, the Headmaster spoke. His tone was low and measured, suggesting that there was absolutely no use in fighting with him for a moment longer.

“I’ll tell you what,” he told us. “I will delay the appointment of a valedictorian until after midterm exams one month from now. If, after midterms have passed, it turns out that both of you continue to have the same grade point average, you will be given a choice: you may either accept the titles of dual-valedictorians or you may both step down and allow the runner-up to take it from you.”

He was giving us another chance. If I did better than Kihyun on the midterm exams, then I would be able to beat him for that number one spot.

If I was named valedictorian, Yale would find out and definitely have to offer me an acceptance. How else could I convince them to take me off the waitlist other than begging? My other entrance exam scores were perfect; pristine, even.

This was the only thing that could be my saving grace.

So, really, I had no choice.

I glanced over at Kihyun, who sensed my gaze and met it with a somber look that skirted the edges of a venomous glare.

We stared at each other for a minute, two pairs of dark eyes daring the other to back down. However, it was obvious that we were both on the same page. Maybe it was because we were both smart that allowed us to communicate almost telepathically, but it certainly came in handy in that moment.

We turned back to the Headmaster, who was watching us with barely concealed annoyance.

“Fine,” I replied.

“Deal,” added Kihyun.

“Well, then it’s settled,” grumbled the Headmaster, leaning back in his chair. “I will see you both after midterms. I do feel as though I should remind both of you that there are far more important things in life than grades. Regardless, I can see that neither one of you will listen to such sentiments, so… please just get out of my office.”

Kihyun and I stormed out of the Headmaster’s office soon after that, marching down the hallway.

“You might as well give up now, Y/N,” smirked Kihyun, crossing his arms against his chest. 

His legs were longer than mine so I had to pick up the pace to keep up with him, but I managed to step in front of his path and cause him to stop walking to avoid bumping into me.

“You really think I’m afraid of a finance major?” I snorted. “You’re the one who should be giving up.”

Kihyun narrowed his eyes at me and there was a moment when we simply glared at one another, standing barely a foot apart in the hall as confused students walked past us on all sides. 

“You’re going down,” Kihyun practically growled.

“Nope,” I hissed. “I’m going up, along with my GPA.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Yep. I guess we will.”

“Okay.”

“...okay.”

When there was obviously nothing else to be said between us, both of us simply rolled our eyes one last time and parted ways with twin scoffs.

I was going to show that handsome know-it-all his place. 

His place was underneath me.

Not physically. Just… in the school ranking.

Obviously.


End file.
